“If I could sketch a good likeness of him, we could show the sketch around town, together with Ella’s picture. Maybe someone would recognize them.”
“That’s a great idea,” Abby said. “But we can’t do it at my house.”
“What if we met on the slope under that big shade tree around noon? I’ll bring sub sandwiches and my sketchpad.”
“Okay, but it’s my turn to bring lunch. I’ll get the subs.” Abby glanced over at Jay. “Something else happened today. I haven’t told anyone. I got a crank call on my cell. Some hick warning me to back off asking about Ella. I’m pretty sure it was Mason Craddock and his clones.”
“How’d they find out you were looking for Ella?”
“I don’t know. Maybe one of them works at one of the places where I left my card.”
“What makes you so sure it was them?”
“Because the guy said”—Abby nudged Jay with her elbow and spoke with a drawl—“‘Stop askin’ questions about the girl, and don’t tell nobody about this call. Or you’re liable to go missin’ too.’ Now if that doesn’t reek of Mason and his loser friends, nothing does. I’m sure they’re all having a great laugh at my expense. Let them. I don’t care what they think.”
Jay turned to her. “Think you should be so quick to blow it off, Abby? What if the call was for real?”
“It wasn’t. Mason’s trying to get back at me because I won’t go out with him.”
“Maybe I should pay Mason a visit and tell him to back off.”
“Please don’t,” Abby said. “They’ll gang up on you. Just ignore it. I am.”
“Shouldn’t you at least tell your grandfather?”
“No!” Abby lowered her voice. “He’ll tell Mama, and she’ll tell the sheriff. Then they’ll all make me back off looking for Ella. Besides, Mason will deny he knew anything about it.”
“The jerk as much as threatened you.”
“I’m sure he thought it was funny. Just drop it.”
Chapter 10
Raleigh Country Sheriff Virgil Granger sat in the glider on the wraparound porch of his Victorian home on Puckett Street, holding a glass of sweet tea and listening to the happy chatter of neighbor kids riding their Big Wheels up and down the driveway across the street. They were still going strong, even though it was dark except for the glow of the streetlight.
It didn’t seem that many summers ago that his own sons were outside doing the very same thing. Now that they were grown, he and Jill Beth didn’t need all this space. But any time he hinted about putting the place on the market, she looked up at him with those sentimental puppy eyes that reminded him it was more than just a house—it was where they had raised their triplet boys from infancy to adulthood.
Virgil took a sip of tea. The house begged for paint. It was too much for him to tackle alone, and his sons had offered to come for a long weekend to help him get the job done.
Virgil chuckled, remembering the fiasco the first time he painted the boys’ rooms. Robby, Ricky, and Reece were eight years old and eager to watch. Ricky stepped in the paint pan and ruined a new pair of expensive sneakers. Reece and Robby got into a tug-of-war over the dog’s leash, and one of them finally let go. The other fell on his behind, knocking a half-full bucket of paint off a stool, the contents splattering both misbehavers—and the family’s beagle—with a rich shade of yellow.
Virgil heard the front door open.
Jill Beth stepped out on the porch, dressed in her pink bathrobe and emitting the sweet fragrance of gardenia bubble bath. She held up his cell phone. “It’s Chief Deputy Mann.”
Virgil kissed her hand and took the phone. “What’s up, Kevin?”
“Duncan, Hobbs, and I responded to a 9-1-1 call from a teenage couple that said they found skeletal remains in the woods off Smithville Road—up yonder on the mountain. Sure enough, there’re remains up here. Way too decomposed to make any kind of ID—even gender. But judging by the size of the skull, it had to be an adult.”
“Why were the kids in the woods?”
“Said they were owl watching.” Kevin snorted. “Hey, I’m just the messenger. Anyhow, they were trudging through the woods and spotted the bones with the flashlight. They thought it was animal remains until they saw the skull. They ran back to their truck and called 9-1-1. They’re still pretty shook up. Duncan